Review: Jari Love’s Get Extremely Ripped

Equipment needed: Dumbbells; a step is helpful for some exercises but not required; a mat is helpful for the ab work.

The lowdown: I’ve been a fan of Jari Love since she released her hard-core DVD “Get Ripped” in 2005. Her latest effort, “Get Extremely Ripped,” didn’t disappoint.

The DVD offers two 30-minute workouts consisting of full-body, high-rep, low-weight strength training. This isn’t the type of training I usually do, and I’m always a little surprised at how effective light weights can be.

The DVD is shot in an industrial-looking set, and Love, in all black, looks appropriately tough. She has five background exercises with her who use different levels of weights, labeled onscreen. It’s a reminder that we don’t all have to work at the same level as the instructor, something I always appreciate.

Love makes the most of her time with compound exercises (for example, doing lunges while doing bicep curls). And there are a lot of lunges. And a lot of squats. If you give it your all, your lower-body muscles will be worked to exhaustion. But Jari mixes it up with a lot of different kinds of exercises, and the transitions are quick, so there’s a minimum of boredom. A timer counts down the end of the set, and there’s also an estimated calorie burn.

You can do both workouts back to back (and if you can, I salute you) or just one. There’s also a short ab workout that’s effective.

I wouldn’t recommend this for beginners because there isn’t much instruction on form, and there aren’t many modifications shown, but those who are more experienced will appreciate the endurance challenge.